


The Growing Height, Feelings, and Distance

by yoelixir



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Mush, Friendship, High School, Inspired by Music, Karasuno, Light Angst, Loosely based on 20cm by TXT, Male-Female Friendship, Mentioned Shimizu Kiyoko, Oneshot, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, haikyuu oneshot, haikyuu!! - Freeform, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27513073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoelixir/pseuds/yoelixir
Summary: You came back, determined to reconnect with your best friend, Tsukishima Kei, whom you've lost contact to.But it looks like Kei doesn't want to.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Reader, Tsukishima Kei/Reader
Kudos: 42





	The Growing Height, Feelings, and Distance

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! I've been listening to several songs on my playlist in hopes of getting some inspiration for a story and I did, BUT, I don't know how to put them into plots and words. I only managed to write this one out and this has been sitting in my drafts for a week or so. I wanted to finish writing it but work keeps eating my time ~~sad noise~~.
> 
> This story is _loosely based_ on a song called [20cm by Tomorrow x Together](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVlo1rqJKAs) ([lyrics here](https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2019/10/txt-tumoloubaitugedeo-20cm)). When I started getting inspirations from the song, I immediately tried to find a character that will go with it and I chose Kei (one of the things that this song explicitly talks about is the height, so yea, that's how I really decided for it, there ya go). I love Kei, but I'm not entirely confident of how I wrote him in this one :( 
> 
> Let me know what you think~

—

“Am I missing something?” Kei questioned as he went downstairs to the dining table only to see a lot of dishes being served.

“I’m home!” Kei heard from the entrance.

“Kei, can you put this inside the fridge please?” His brother handed him a box containing a cake. A strawberry shortcake.

“Are we celebrating something I’m not aware of?” he asked.

“The L/Ns are coming over for dinner. They just moved back from Tokyo and they’re staying for good this time.”

_That means…_

Akiteru gave his little brother a teasing grin. “That means Y/N is back and that cake is not all yours. I got that flavour because you two liked it so much.”

—

It’s been 4 years since you and your family moved to Tokyo to look after your grandparents and also for your father to take over the family’s business as your grandpa decided to retire. Your families lived next to each other, and as your parents put it “you and Kei have known each other since you were in diapers”. When you left for Tokyo, you shed some tears while bidding goodbye to Kei who only teased you for being a crybaby.

You would come back to Miyagi during your summer breaks. The first time you went back for a vacation, to say that you were surprised is an understatement. It had only been a few months but it was very much visible how he grew taller and his voice was a bit deeper than what you were used to. Let’s say you didn’t let him live a day without teasing him about it.

Even if you would often annoy the hell out of each other, it was needless to say that you got each other’s backs, even in as kids. You were there for him when he discovered his brother’s secret and he got you when your parents were going through a rough patch.

Things got busy for you when you entered middle school. Your family got busier in handling the business as well so there wasn’t really a chance for you to go back to Miyagi even for a short vacation. You and Kei remained connected through emails and occasional phone calls for a few months until you’ve never heard from each other again.

—

The family dinner started and you two were sitting across each other while the older ones are talking and with Akiteru chiming in from time to time. You and Kei were quietly eating your dinner, not finding the right time to strike up a conversation any time soon. Kei excused himself first from the table after finishing his meal. After a while, you stood up to excuse yourself as well, but Akiteru called for you from the kitchen counter. You can see him getting a cake from the fridge and settling it down on the counter and then goes to get small plates and utensils. He proceeded to slicing the cake and placing them on the small plates and pushing two to your direction. “One for you, and the other one is for Kei. He's at the backyard, will you please bring it to him?"

"Sure," you replied. "Thank you, Akiteru-nii."

"Be sure to catch up with each other. As much as I hate how rowdy you two were back then, I kinda miss it."

"Just say you miss me and go," you replied with some sass and earning a laugh from Akiteru.

"I was so sure you lost your words and sass somewhere in Tokyo when I didn't hear anything from you back at the table."

"I think it only comes out when I talk to an annoying Tsukishima sibling?"

"That ain't me."

—

You went to the backyard and as what Akiteru said, Kei was there with his headphones and sitting on the porch.

You put the other small plate down beside Kei and quietly took a seat in the opposite direction with your own slice of cake. He must have felt your presence as he removed his headphones and noticed the slice of cake beside him. He muttered a thank you and started digging in. You rack your brain for whatever topic or question that you could use to strike up a conversation. All the questions that you wanted to ask seemed to have evaporated. _Think! Think! Come on…_

"Kei, how much have you grown since we last saw each other?” you asked awkwardly, mentally slapped yourself for it. You were not expecting an answer for it really, but Kei did anyway.

"Last time I checked it was around 188cm."

“That’s around 20cm! You’ve grown so much!”

"Duh, of course. It was several years ago. Do you really expect me to remain a shorty just like you?"

His last statement ticked you off, but you can't help but smile as you slowly felt the atmosphere between the two of you go back to how it was. Seeing that faint shit-eating grin on his face is enough proof.

"I'm not a shorty! I grew up too!"

"Really? Let's see then," he challenged. He stood up from his spot, you followed him, and stood right in front of him to compare. "Alright, stand still--" you said, holding on both of his arms to make him stay still and when you looked up, blush crept up on your faces at the close proximity. Before you completely drown yourself in his golden-brown eyes, you pushed him out of panic and lost your balance. Luckily, he managed to catch you before your clumsy ass hit the ground. He pulled you up and you steadied yourself. “Sorry about that.”

While you were trying to collect yourself, he flicked a finger on your forehead causing you to yelp in pain. “What the hell?! I said I’m sorry!”

“Ah, sorry. You’re so annoyingly clumsy, I can’t help it.”

“Damn you beanpole!” He then walked back to his previous spot and picked up the now empty plate. "Leaving already?"

“Yeah. I got things to do," he casually replied. You wanted more time to catch up with him but he already marched back inside. "I guess that's enough for today?" you thought.

The previous scene was still playing in his mind as he went back inside. You were standing too close to each other that he can smell your shampoo scent. He had the urge to pat your head, run his fingers through your hair and graze them lightly on your chin, but he managed to hold it back. Where did these urges even come from? He doesn’t understand. He never did, and it annoyed him.

—

Monday came and you were surprised to see Kei outside your house in his school uniform. Damn, he’s just wearing a gakuran but he sure makes it look like he’s gonna be on a runway. “Your mom asked me to accompany you to school, transfer student.”

“Sounds like a very troublesome task. I like that.”

“If you don’t hurry up, I’m gonna leave you behind.”

The walk to your new school was rather silent. You two bicker a lot but you also used to have moments where you enjoy the comfortable silence. But right now, there's nothing comfortable with the silence between the two of you. “We really drifted off, didn’t we?” Those thoughts were never meant to be spoken out loud. Kei saw your mouth moved as he was sneaking glances at you, but he was not able to catch what you said. “Sorry, what was that—?”

“Good morning, Tsukki!” From behind, you can see Yamaguchi Tadashi running to your direction. “Y/N is that you?!”

“Good morning to you too, Yamaguchi,” you greeted. “Yes, it’s me. The one and only.”

“When did you get back?! Oh, you’re wearing Karasuno’s uniform, does that mean—“

“Shut up, Yamaguchi. We’re gonna be late,” Kei interjected.

“Hehe. Sorry, Tsukki!”

When you arrived at school, you parted ways with the two guys and went to the teachers’ office to get your class schedule. You got introduced to your new classmates and immediately hit it off with your seatmate, Yachi Hitoka, who was willing to show you around and accompany you on your first day. During lunchtime, you two were on your way to the cafeteria and saw Yamaguchi and Kei who seemed to be headed to the same location.

“Yamaguchi—!”

“Kei—!”

You and Yachi called out at the same time, earning the two boys’ attention. “You know them, Yachi?”

“Yeah, they’re members of the school’s volleyball team. I assume you know them too?”

“Ah, I remember you mentioned that you were one of the managers.”

Yamaguchi and Kei made their way to the two of you. “I’m friends with them. Kei and I are childhood friends, and I met Yamaguchi through this blonde beanpole.”

Yamaguchi and Yachi can’t help but snicker at the way you talk about Kei. “You two must be very close if you’re on a first-name basis,” Yachi commented.

You suddenly felt Kei’s arm on your head and moving it to mess up your hair. “Yeah, we’re very close,” Kei replied in a mocking voice. Once you were able to get his arm off of your head, you held onto it as he was still attempting to bring it back on your head. “You never told me you were in the volleyball club.”

“You never asked," he replied nonchalantly. It kinda stung, but you buried it at the back of your mind. You used to tell each other everything even if you didn't ask.

“Well I wanted to catch up with you during the weekends but you declined. So much for being friends.” You felt him trying to lift his arms up again in an attempt to further mess your hair but you somehow managed to get away from him and run behind Yachi and Yamaguchi.

“Anyways! Can I come to your volleyball practice later, Yachi?”

“I think you can. I’ll go and ask permission from Takeda-sensei and I’ll let you know.”

“Nope.” Kei objected. “There are already enough bothersome people in practice. Don’t try to add more by coming over.”

Do you ever listen to him? Nope, so after class, you went with Yachi to the gym. "Keeeiiiiiiii!!!" you called the moment you saw him enter the gym. He was visibly annoyed by your antics but you're pretty much used to it.

You also got to meet the rest of the Karasuno team that afternoon. They found it amusing that there’s a girl who can actually talk back to Kei and get away with it unscathed. For the rest of the practice, however, Kei did not pay you any attention at all. During their breaks, he would rest somewhere away from where you’re sitting, making it clear that he doesn’t like having you here in their practice. It didn’t faze you though. When they were done with practice, you went up to him to say that you’re gonna wait for him to clean up and you can go home together.

“You looked really cool today, not gonna lie.” You kept your eyes on him as he wiped away his sweat and removed his training bib. No response. “Let’s go home together! It’s a bit late already.”

“I told you not to come here.” He places the towel on his shoulder and turned to your direction, displaying his annoyed face. “You could’ve gone home earlier and it would save me the energy to walk you to your house.”

“Did you really expect me to listen? Duh. And you said I never asked about you playing volleyball so I went to see you play,” you retaliated. “And our houses are literally next to each other, stop overreacting.”

“Don’t come again.”

“Not gonna happen.” And it never really happened. You’d always go to their practice after class hour like it’s your normal routine that Shimizu even considered getting you as a manager, an idea that Yachi rooted for. You declined, saying that Kei might disown you for good, which is half true.

Kei still doesn’t talk to you whenever you’re there, but you still go home together. You can already feel yourself running out of patience. The unanswered questions have been plaguing your mind ever since you went back to Miyagi but you never even got a chance to bring up one of it.

“Tsukishima Kei!” you yelled from behind as you two near your houses.

He was clearly taken aback with your use of his full name that he immediately looked back. “Why the hell did you stop talking to me back then? Did I do or say something wrong?” You asked with a pained expression. “Did you get tired of me?”

Kei remained unmoved. The distance that you felt between the two of you seems to grow further as he remained silent. He has been trying to avoid this moment ever since you came back because he doesn’t really know how to answer that question. But the look on your face when you asked if he got tired of you seemed to tug some strings on his heart.

“I’m sorry. What was I thinking?” You continued. “You did get tired of me. I’m sorry, Kei. I won’t bother you anymore.”

You walked past him, but he was able to grab ahold of your arm and pulled you to his chest. “I would never,” he whispered. “I would never get tired of you.”

“I’m not good with words when it comes to expressing my feelings. Heck, I didn’t even understand them.” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and you snuggled closer to his chest. You felt him lean his chin on the top of your head and heaved a sigh. “My brother used to tease me a lot because we kept in contact to the point that he got so annoying. So to spite him, I stopped contacting you.”

“What a lame-ass reason! You got me overthinking and feeling sad for years just for that LAME. ASS. REASON!”

“I know! Stop rubbing it on my face! I wanted to reconnect but I was thinking that you already either hate me or have forgotten about me. I never had the courage to speak to you again but I cannot find it in me to let the thought of you go. When you came back, you asked me how much I’ve grown. I don’t think it’s just my height. My feelings may have caught up with it as well.”

You pulled away from his hold for a bit and looked up at him. “Then why did you ran away from me that night?”

For the first time since you came back, you saw him looking at you fondly. The same look he’d use to give whenever you render him speechless when you’d never back down when bickering with each other or whenever you manage to throw a good comeback to his snarky comments. “I was unsure..of what I exactly feel, of what you feel towards me.”

“I forgot how dense you could be.”

“Now you’re just being annoying.”

**Author's Note:**

> Posted this one on my [tumblr](https://extra-salt.tumblr.com/post/634523018764468225/the-growing-height-feelings-and-distance) :)


End file.
